Nobody likes to be snookered, to be taken advantage of, and this especially so when we're negotiating.

If we're hoodwinked or conned when dollars and cents and promotions and salaries are at stake, it's especially painful.

Before you rush off to that next job interview or performance evaluation, or you race to negotiate for that new car or enticing house, open your eyes and take the measure of the people you're negotiating with.

It may save you money, embarrassment, and even your career!

Here are negotiating 5 tip-offs that they may be more skilled at the game than you are:

(1) IS HE TOO DUMB TO BE TRUE? That car dealer that seems to be the village idiot may be simply playing Lt. Columbo with you. You remember him, the TV detective who mumbled and bumbled his way to solving case after case, ensnaring the most evil and, get this, the cockiest and most over-confident bad guys in the world! Playing the bozo is a smart move, according to a consensus of negotiating pro's. By asking questions and appearing un-slick, you gain several advantages, not the last of which is you listen more than you talk, you fact-find, uncover their negotiating ranges, and you induce the other party to make damaging disclosures while avoiding the perils of blabbing. There was only one job interview where it paid for me to appear smart, and that was when I sought college teaching positions. So, exceptions exist, but they're rare.

(2) IS SHE THE NICEST PERSON YOU'VE MET IN MONTHS?

Nice people are disarming. They offer us a glass of water, hold doors open for us, smile, make pleasant eye contact, compliment our attire, and put us at ease. And in doing so, they get far more from us, through tit-for-tat, our desire to reciprocate, than they would ever extract through bullying. The "hard negotiator" exists, the one who seems to put his bulldog personality before all else. But he isn't nearly as effective, in most cases, as that flawlessly polite and congenial person that seems to REALLY LIKE US! Beware of them.

(3) DOES SHE CONFESS THAT SHE HAS LIMITED AUTHORITY?

This is one of the oldest negotiating gambits in the book. If I have limited authority, I can't seal a deal all by myself, which means if you can, what you promise is binding, but what I "think I might be able to do," is always tentative. This means you make concessions without a stop-loss, and I haven't conceded a thing. I'll leave the table with all of my options open, always promising to "see what I can do," but only getting final approval much later on, after you have caved in on point after point.

(4) LIKE A GREAT FOOTBALL COACH, DOES HE KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE CLOCK?

Effective negotiators seem to speed up and slow down the pace of the game, nearly at will. When a sense of urgency suits them, you feel pressure to answer their questions, provide commitments, and make concessions on the spot. When they find it valuable to slow the pace, to heighten your frustration and to tweak your need for quick closure, suddenly, they have to take a break or are called into another meeting or have to take a call and get back to you later. The Master of the Clock is typically a negotiation master, as well.

(5) JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE A DEAL, DOES SHE NEED JUST ONE SMALL FAVOR OR ADDITIONAL ITEM?

A "nibble" is a tiny morsel that your counterpart asks for just as, or even some time after you think your terms have been agreed upon and are final. The smart buyer says to the car dealer, "Of course, you're going to make sure to give me a full tank of gas, aren't you?" Depending on the model, that can be a $50 nibble, or much more, if you're buying a Winnebago. Is any sane seller going to refuse, to watch his commission scamper away over a measly few dollars? Yes, some will, who resent nibblers, but most won't.

Looking at the bright side, now you know five of the most typical negotiating gambits, and of course, you can use them too, when you encounter someone with even LESS training!